Hello from Australia.

So, we are over one month into our travels and have finally got round to writing the blog - Better late than never. We'll write about Dubai (which was good), India (which was incredible) & Singapore (also very nice) as soon as we work out how to backdate these blogs.

We flew into Brisbane from Singapore on the 3rd March and have had 10 days of relaxing & soaking up (a bit too much of) the sun. How's the weather back home?!

Brisbane is a fantastic city. Busy but incredibly laid back. They have a city beach, which is an artificial beach on the south bank of the Brisbane River, with its own 'sea'. It works very well & suits the lifestyle here. Beats the hell out of the Birmingham effort last summer. Highlights of Brisbane were going around the Castlemaine XXXX brewery - got to see some very cheesy old TV adverts, listened to some talking mannequins talking about their 4X, mate! Got to sample some of the local brews - well worth the money.

Went to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary for an absolutely brilliant day. Got up close and personal with kangaroos & emus. Got to cuddle a baby koala. Much more pleasant than some of the wildlife experiences in India (Linds got groped by an over-inquisitive monkey - will tell all later)

Since leaving Brisbane, we've stopped off at Surfers Paradise and have headed on to Byron Bay. We are staying at the Arts Factory hostel (Look it up), set in quite a secluded area of woodland, very close to the centre of town. Our accommodation was on a small island, surrounded by a lake. We are staying in a canvas tent, with a double bed, half a foot of space either side, and a few 8-legged lodgers which we (Adam) had to remove after the initial freak-out. We have come to love the place and extended our stay here. We are very close to the local wildlife - friendly iguanas, huge scrub birds & other weird & wonderful beasties.

Byron Bay is hippy-ville with loads of new-age stuff going on. Very different to Surfers Paradise - not a tower block in sight. Lots of 'interesting' people about - everyone is very friendly. Such a relaxing, happy place. This morning we watched the sunrise over the most easterly point of the Aussie mainland - 5am start was tough but well worth the breathtaking experience.

Tomorrow we set off down the coast towards Sydney, stopping off at Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie & Newcastle along the way. Have loved every minute of Byron Bay (and Australia) so far. Have really started to unwind and adopt the local laid back approach to life - Haven't gone quite as far as some of the locals though. Good job we're only here for 5 days, or you might not recognise us when we're back.

Feeling very self-righteous now we have made a blog entry. We will soon work out how to put some piccies up & maybe write about the month gone by - so watch this space!

Missing you all heaps. We're off to sample some of the local wine and put our feet up.

Adam & Linds x

PS> Can't believe the first time we do a big long trip abroad, West Brom go on an incredible run to the FA Cup Semi-finals - Delighted will be back in time for the final - Come on you Baggies!